


Where the Ocean Meets the Shore

by MaraMcGregor



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Magical Solution, Merperson Kent "Parse" Parson, Mutual Pining, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:23:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22530148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaraMcGregor/pseuds/MaraMcGregor
Summary: Kent isn't supposed to go near the surface, and definitely not near humans. But, he can't help but be drawn to the sad human boy on the pier.
Relationships: Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Kent "Parse" Parson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44
Collections: Bitty's Valentines Collection





	Where the Ocean Meets the Shore

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KARIN848](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KARIN848/gifts).



> Happy Valentine's Day, Karin848!

The rest of his pod would say he didn’t have a single scale of self-preservation in his body. Kent just felt that he had an overabundance of curiosity. They weren’t supposed to go to the surface, particularly near land. But, he was curious. And they were near enough to a small inlet that it wouldn’t be _too_ risky. When Kent breached the surface, he was a mere 50 feet from a wooden structure jutting out into the water. Sitting with his knees tucked to his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs was a land boy that must have been a couple of years younger than Kent - assuming that humans aged at the same rate as merpeople.

Kent drifted closer, just barely keeping his eyes above the water. He watched as the boy idly tossed pebbles into the water and stared down at the dark surface. His large brown eyes were red-rimmed and he dragged his forearm across his face, smearing the water dripping down his cheeks. 

Just as Kent got up the courage to open his mouth, a large man came down the hill and out to the boy. “Come to supper, Junior. The rest of the family is waiting on you.”

The boy stood up and nodded. “Okay, Daddy.”

That was the last time Kent saw the boy that year.

* * *

Kent gave up going to the surface to see the boy after 3 months. It was dangerous and his friends in the pod were starting to get suspicious. He had to dodge Jack and Alexei more than once when he went scouting. The other boys were deeply concerned with his afternoon vanishing stunts. 

He wasn’t sure if the land boy that looked so sad would ever come back, but something in his heart hoped he did. And he hoped that the boy looked less sad the next time he saw him. If he ever did.

Finally, a year after first going to the surface and spying on the land people, Kent decided to try again. He had no idea if he would see the boy, Junior, or not. But something deep in his bones drew him back to the surface. Jack and Alexei had stopped watching him like sharks and had relaxed over the intervening months. So, it wasn’t a challenge to sneak off while the other young merpeople were learning about deep ocean currents.

Kent let his eyes barely break the surface, and there, sitting on the edge of the pier was the mysterious boy from last year. He looked sad again, idly tossing pebbles into the ocean, knees tucked up under his chin as he sat curled up into himself. Kent was rarely thankful for his black and silver tail. But, it came in handy when he needed to hide in the shadows.

He swam as close as he dared and watched as the boy mumbled something to himself. It took all of his willpower not to break the surface so close to land and try to listen to what the boy was saying. He knew what he was doing was already dangerous. So, he watched in silence beneath the waves.

That summer, he came back to the pier every day for a week. And finally, the day came when the boy and his family were gone. Kent didn’t go back again that year. But, he knew he wouldn’t be able to stay away forever. Something about the sad boy drew him in. It was like a missing piece of his soul was calling out, begging to be put back together.

* * *

The years passed and Kent made sure to go back every summer and watch the boy grow up. Some summers, he was happy and played with his family, particularly the younger ones. But, there came a time when the smiles became less frequent and the tears more common. It took everything in Kent’s body to not go to the other boy when he was crying by the ocean. Each year, he came back sadder and sadder, tossing stones into the ocean waves and watching them disappear.

Kent tried to explain the situation to Jack. But, Jack was a pragmatist. And he refused to break the pod’s rules about land people.

“Kenny, how many times have I told you that one of these days you are going to get caught going there. Either by the land people or by the pod. It’s dangerous.”

“You haven’t seen how sad he is. He keeps looking out to the ocean like he would do anything to jump in and just keep swimming.”

“Kenny, it’s not your problem. I know you have gotten attached, but land people cannot be trusted. You need to stop going there and torturing yourself over a land boy that you can never even speak to.”

Kent knew that Jack was being sensible. It was the answer he was supposed to take. But, he couldn’t abandon the boy on the pier. His heart ached every time he cried. And, really, how bad would it be if _one_ land person knew that merpeople were real? After all, it didn’t appear that he had anyone to actually _talk_ to.

He knew he was being ridiculous, but he had to at least try to speak to the boy.

Kent waited in the shallows just below the pier. He made sure to get there while the water was still dark before the sun fully rose over the horizon. He knew he would have several hours to wait before the mysterious, sad land boy would make his way down to the water. He just had to be patient. It wasn’t really his strong suit, but he was determined to finally have some answers to his questions that had only multiplied in the years that he spent watching from afar.

He lurked for hours under the wooden pier. Finally. Finally, the boy appeared. But, he wasn’t a boy anymore. Then again, Kent wasn’t a boy anymore either. Years had passed and somehow Kent never noticed them until he was faced with them up close. He listened to the young man as he whispered his sorrows to the ocean.

He didn’t really understand why the problems were problems. But it seemed that the young man couldn’t be himself around his family. Kent knew that he had to do something before he ran out of time tonight if he was ever going to stop this aching in his chest.

He screwed up his courage and let himself drift just out from under the pier. “I don’t understand why you are so sad, but maybe it would help if you had someone to talk to?”

In retrospect, Kent figured a random voice coming from the water would scare any sensible land person, but he wasn’t expecting the young man to flail back away from the edge and vanish out of sight further back on the pier. “Crap. I’m not going to hurt you. I just - I was worried?”

Eventually, two large brown eyes peered over the edge back at him. “Who - how? What on Earth?”

“I’m Kent. But, you can call me Kenny if you like. I’ve been listening to you and I have to admit that I don’t really understand why you are so sad, but sometimes talking to someone else can help? I usually tell all my problems to my friends and they do a really good job of telling me to make good decisions.”

“Does it work?”

Kent smiled. “Nope. Not at all. I shouldn’t be here, but I feel like I need to know you.”

They talked deep into the night. Bitty explained the hatred he faced from his family, the disappointment from his father, and the constant, never ending loneliness he lived with. Kent listened and nodded. He wasn’t sure why anyone would treat a family member poorly for loving someone of the same gender, but he supposed it was a land people thing that he would never truly be able to understand.

Kent showed his tail to the first land person he had ever spoken to and preened when Bitty gushed over how shiny his scales were. He always thought he was drab in comparison to Jack’s beautiful blue and yellow or Jeff’s bright red with black markings. But, Bitty assured him that black and silver complemented his skin tone well and that it looked very pretty in the moonlight. Kent couldn’t stop a blush from blossoming over his cheeks. He also couldn’t stop the crush that was forming right that very moment.

* * *

Two more years passed and the ache was still there. Kent still felt drawn to the surface every time Bitty was nearby. He spent that one blissful week in the summer talking to him and learning about his life. And somehow along the way, Kent’s bizarre obsession turned into something more.

“You are not letting this go, are you Kenny?”

“Alexei -”

Alexei sighed and swam over close to Kent. “You are wanting to save your human from land. Is he wanting the same?”

Kent was quiet for a moment, remembering the lost look in Bitty’s eyes as he gazed out over the ocean. “Yeah. I think so.”

“Is not easy thing you want to do. But, maybe come speak to my babushka. There is old family story from before we came to this pod. From back when we lived in the White Sea. Maybe you should hear it.”

Kent followed Alexei back to the caves where the pod slept safely at night. They meandered through the tunnels and eventually wound their way to the section where Alexei’s immediate family stayed. The elderly mermaid that was Alexei’s babushka didn’t leave the cave system often. It was dangerous for a mer of such advanced age in the open ocean where she didn’t have the ability to see too far around her, nor the speed to escape immediate danger. 

“Babushka, I brought my friend, Kenny. He is having questions about -”

“Ah, the fickle mer who likes to go to surface.”

Kent’s jaw dropped and stared aghast at the elderly mermaid. “I - I -”

“Tsk. I know the feeling. You are drawn to surface, yes?”

Kent hesitated a moment before replying quietly, “Yes.”

“Hm. I remember what it was like. You feel like your soul is split in two and the missing piece isn’t in the ocean where it belongs.”

Kent drifted forward, his entire being needing to hear more.

“It is because you are meant for the one you are drawn to. And they are separated by sea and land. Have you spoken to them, yet?”

Kent nodded weakly. “Yes.”

Alexei covered his mouth in shock. “You spoke to the land boy?”

His babushka waved him off, seemingly unconcerned. “I am not surprised. It was same with your dedushka. I could not stay away. He longed for the ocean. And I longed for him. You have heard the story.”

“Yes. But, he never spoke of being on land.”

“Because he was dead there and alive here. There was no point in looking back. Our pod in Russia was not happy with what I had done. They made us leave.” She stared into Kent’s eyes. “You are willing to risk everything for this land boy?”

Kent leaned forward and nodded fervently. “Please.”

Alexei’s babushka opened a large clam shell. Inside rested a glimmering moonstone pendant. “You take this necklace and lay it on the beach or on some rocks and let it charge in the light of full moon. When it shines with the brightness of the moon, place it back in the shell and keep it closed until you see your land boy again. Have him place it around his neck. He must jump into the water and dive deep enough that no light can reach him. When the moonstone is the only light touching him, he will change and become a mer. You will have to hold him down. Land people will fight to get to the air no matter how much they want to stay under. Once they have changed, they can never go back to the land. They will be just as much a mer as you or I. Can you do that?” 

Kent stared at the moonstone necklace and nodded. He wouldn’t force the decision on Bitty, but he could at least give him the choice. He wasn’t sure if he could hold him down as he struggled for air, but if Bitty decided that’s what he wanted, he would do his best.

* * *

“Bitty, come with me. I promise you’ll be happy.”

“How? I can’t breathe underwater, Kenny.”

Kent gripped Bitty’s hand tight and stared directly into his eyes. “If I could give you a tail, make you a mer, would you do it?”

“At what cost? I’m not stupid. Every fairytale I’ve ever seen is clear. Magic always has a price. If it costs your well-being, I don’t want it. If it means that I can never see you again, I don’t want it. I’d rather have these few days a year than lose you for some magical fix.”

Kent played with the moonstone pendant, twining the chain around his fingers. “The price is your life on land. You can never see your family again.”

“What?”

Kent laid the pendant on the pier. “This pendant can turn you into a mer. Forever. I charged it on the last full moon and kept it concealed. If you put it on and dive into the ocean, you will change.”

“What about the never coming back to land part?”

Kent solemnly looked up at Bitty. “You have to go deep enough in the ocean that no light but the pendant’s can touch you. Then, you will change. Once you are a mer, you can never go back to land. Land people cannot know we exist.”

Bitty stared back in vague horror. “I - what?”

“That’s the price. Your life on land for your life in the ocean.”

Bitty took the pendant from Kent’s fingers and inspected it for any sign that it was more than just a pretty rock. “Can I think about it?”

Kent nodded and held out the shell container. “Place it back in the clam shell so that it doesn’t lose its charge. If you decide to use it, do so at night so that you don’t have to go down as deep. I will stay close by, just in case.”

Bitty nodded and carefully closed the shell around the pendant. “I promise I’ll think about it.” He leaned back and then seemed to think better of it. “Kenny, would it be okay if I kissed you?”

Kent pulled himself as far out of the water as he was able, supporting all of his weight on his arms. “I’d like that.”

It was wet, salty, and rather quick, but Kent felt like an electric eel had shocked him down to the tips of his fluke. 

Bitty blushed high on his cheeks and the tips of his ears. “I’ll let you know.”

Kent let himself drift to the bottom of the ocean floor, the aftereffects of the kiss still pounding in his ears. He was an infatuated fool and he couldn’t care less, until the next day came and there was no sign of Bitty. Nor the day after that. Nor the day after that.

Kent felt sick. He supposed it was a good sign that Bitty had not returned. Maybe he had resolved his problems with his family. Maybe he didn’t need the escape of the ocean anymore. And then a dark voice whispered in his head that maybe it was Kent himself that Bitty didn’t want and the kiss was out of pity. But, he was stubborn. He would stick it out until Bitty and his family left. Then he would go back and wallow in his misery and never leave babushka’s cave again.

The last night of Bitty’s time at the shore came. Kent stayed well beneath the surface and sulked. Then, something changed. Cautiously, he poked his head above the dark water and heard distant yelling. A figure dashed down the sloping yard and hit the pier at a full sprint, diving straight into the ocean.

Kent didn’t waste any time and swam directly for him. Bitty had the moonstone pendant around his neck and swam down as hard as he could, but the water this close to shore was too shallow. Kent, grabbed his arm and pulled him to the surface. “If you want this, we have to go further out. Hold on to me.”

Bitty wrapped his arms around Kent’s neck, soft sobs wracking his body. “I told them. I finally told them I was gay. They couldn’t - they said -”

Kent shushed him. “It doesn’t matter what they said. Your family is here, with me, and soon the pod. You’ll see. Take one last breath. I’ll pull you down.”

Bitty gasped his last breath of air with his lungs and let Kent pull him deep under the waves into the darkness. The moonstone gleamed in the dark. Just as Bitty started to scramble against Kent’s grip for air, the moonstone flashed and his pants ripped apart as his legs fused into a tail with beautiful red scales and white speckles. Gills opened along his sides and water flooded in and filled his blood with much needed oxygen. It was done.

Kent gazed in awe at the brand new mer in front of him. Bitty leaned in and they shared another kiss, this one deep and soul-wrenching. Finally, Kent felt at peace and Bitty was happy.


End file.
